the sleeping bear
seems at peace, and still does
when its eyes open,
but my mental state - and
my drawers - are quite changed.
Sleeping Bear [Kyōka]
Reply
Category Archives: nature
“Mulberry Picking” [採桑子] by Ouyang Xiu [w/ Audio]
West Lake is beautiful from a small boat.
Green water wends its way through the lotus,
Sweet grass grows thickly all along the bank,
Faint music wafts from unknown points ashore.
When the wind quits, the Lake is glassy smooth;
The boat is perfectly still for a beat,
Then its movement is betrayed by ripples
And startled waterfowls' furious flapping.
Note: The title “Gathering Mulberry Leaves” was used by Xu Yuanchong for his translation. The Chinese title is: 採桑子 (Cǎi Sāngzǐ)
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Meerkat [Lyric Poem]
The Meerkat stands, right and proper,
Like a skeptical eavesdropper.
Its spine aligned and eyes all wide
As if to say, "I know you lied!"
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
“The World Below the Brine” by Walt Whitman [w/ Audio]
The world below the brine,
Forests at the bottom of the sea,
the branches and leaves,
Sea-lettuce, vast lichens, strange flowers
and seeds, the thick tangle, openings,
and pink turf,
Different colors, pale gray and green,
purple, white, and gold, the play of light
through the water,
Dumb swimmers there among the rocks,
coral, gluten, grass, rushes, and the
aliment of the swimmers,
Sluggish existences grazing there suspended,
or slowly crawling close to the bottom,
The sperm-whale at the surface blowing air
and spray, or disporting with his flukes,
The leaden-eyed shark, the walrus, the
turtle, the hairy sea-leopard, and the
sting-ray,
Passions there, wars, pursuits, tribes,
sight in those ocean-depths, breathing
that thick-breathing air, as many do,
The change thence to the sight here,
and to the subtle air breathed by beings
like us who walk this sphere,
The change onward from ours to that of
beings who walk other spheres.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Bud Struggle [Haiku]
tight bud opens:
imperceptible struggle
to unpack beauty.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Snail [Lyric Poem]
Oh my! I am so very awed
by this mighty l’il gastropod.
Its moves make taiji masters seem rushed,
but it lugs a house without being crushed.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Wetlands Sunset [Haiku]
Goose [Lyric Poem]
There's a goose, a goose on the loose!
They scare me, though we have a truce.
The meanest bird you'll find in the park,
I bet they started shit on that Ark.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Squirrel [Lyric Poem]
The squirrel freezes -- unblinking --
But I cannot help but thinking:
How come its tail is misbehaving?
A betrayal by spastic waving!
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Gray Baby [Kyōka]
an autumn sapling,
red leaves on a stiff twig,
shakes in the breeze;
i can't help but think of it
as a gray-haired baby.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 